Whole baked mackerel with tarragon, tomatoes and potatoes

by Paul Warburton on 22 October 2010  |  0 comments
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Check out this amazing recipe for whole baked mackerel with tarragon, tomatoes and potatoes - for £1.49 per person!

Welcome to our Frugal Recipe blog! If you're registered on lovemoney.com, you can follow this blog and find new posts as soon as they are published, via your personal homepage. Never miss a frugal recipe again - register now.

Whole baked mackerel with tarragon, tomatoes and potatoes (Serves 4)

This is one of those great dishes where you just need to do a bit of chopping and throw it into the oven. You’re then rewarded with a really deep flavoured dish just because of the nature of the ingredients involved. This is an Italian sort of recipe and you could substitute the mackerel with any other fish – haddock, salmon or trout would all work well.

Ingredients

• 4 whole mackerel – around 250 grams per fish (£4.01)
• 25g of fresh tarragon (65p)
• 4 ASDA baking potatoes (50p)
• 1 lemon (30p)
• 6 loose tomatoes (52p)

The cupboard staples…

Salt, black pepper, olive oil and 4 cloves of garlic.

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at ASDA where it came to £5.98 - that's £1.49 per head!

Instructions

• Start by pre-heating the oven to 200C (400F or Gas Mark 6).
• Now finely chop the garlic and tarragon. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and finely slice the potatoes (you can leave the skin on).
• Next, take the mackerel and make four ½ cm slashes on each side of the fish and season with salt and pepper (make sure you season in the cavity of the fish).
• Take a large roasting tin and add the potatoes, garlic, tarragon and tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, add the juice of one lemon, season and mix together well. Then place the four mackerel in the roasting tin and give them a good mix with the other ingredients and finish with the mackerel on top of the potatoes and tomatoes etc.
• Foil and place in the oven for 30 minutes – removing the foil and turning the oven up to 220C for the final 10 minutes of cooking.
• Serve with a simple salad and happy eating!

A bit about the Frugal Recipes chef, Paul Warburton

Paul Warburton, a lovemoney.com staff member, had a hectic career in the world of hot kitchens and screaming chefs before joining the lovemoney.com products development team.

During these years, under the tutorage of some great chefs, he honed his skills in cooking for numbers within a tight cost and portion-controlled environment.

Now he's planning to regularly offer his help to all budding chefs in the lovemoney.com community, so you can enjoy his original, low-cost recipes with your family and friends every Friday for free!

What lovemoney.com readers have said about Paul's other recipes

"We enjoyed this recipe very much: easy to make and even easier to eat!" varneyrob

“Thanks Paul, another great tasting easy recipe. It was my first risotto attempt ever and it was great, I even impressed my in-laws with it. Many thanks...” welshlady

"I made this recipe and it was absolutely delicious! Seriously good! Five of us feasted on it, and feasted well..." Ibeshy

"I made this recipe on Saturday night, and my 13 year-old son promptly requested it again for the following night!" Malcolm Wheatley

"This is a cracking risotto recipe. Just had it for lunch & it's a winner. More recipes please. Thanks." SavvyLass

"Another delicious offering from Paul. Thank you - keep 'em coming!" Palefire

Please add your own comments using the comments box below!

If you like this recipe, why not also try Paul's other Frugal Recipes:   Hungarian pork goulash | Butternut squash stuffed with mushrooms, stilton and thyme | Fusilli with a rich beef ragu sauce | Toad in the hole with mustard crème fraiche sauce & pickled red cabbage | Pot roasted chicken with paprika, shallots and potatoes | Smoked haddock and leek risotto | Prawn and chilli linguine | Homemade Cornish pasties | Teriyaki chicken legs with coriander and lime noodles | Turkey, mozzarella and sage meatballs with fettuccine and tomato sauce | Lemon and garlic roasted lamb breast, boulangere potatoes and minted peas | Posh macaroni cheese with crispy bacon and oven dried tomatoes | Falafel, roast pepper and feta salad with chilli tomato salsa | Chicken ‘oven baked’ with cream, mushrooms and thyme | Slow roasted pork shoulder ‘Chinese style’ with pak choi | Chilli steak burgers, paprika wedges and homemade coleslaw |Broad bean, halloumi and mint farfalle | My chicken curry, basmati rice and coriander yoghurt | Barbecued whole mackerel and a spicy lime salsa | Moussaka | Pan fried trout fillets with a dill potato salad | Chicken braised with cider and red cabbage (and proper baked potatoes) | Lincolnshire sausages with red onion gravy and thyme and Gouda polenta | Beef enchiladas with a lime sour cream | Slow roasted duck legs and charlotte potatoes with a carrot and cumin salad | Paella | Asparagus and gruyere tart with new potatoes | Haddock fishcakes with radish and watercress salad and lemon crème fraiche dressing | Prawn and pea risotto | Honey roasted gammon and apples with champ | Hot chocolate fondants with crème Chantilly | Shin of beef, kidney and ale pie Tandoori chicken with coconut rice & mint raita | Homemade gnocchi with a tomato & thyme sauce, spinach and ricotta  | Frugal Pancakes | Griddled black pudding, chimichurri mash and caramelised apples  | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice  | Lamb koftas with a feta, mint and chickpea salad & chilli grilled pittas  | Pork, rosemary and white bean ravioli with a chilli tomato sauce  | Sausage & leek casserole with parsley dumpings | Pork, chorizo & cannellini bean stew | Rabbit, bacon & thyme pie | Potato rosti with creamed spinach and poached egg | Pumpkin and sage risotto | Slow braised oxtail with autumn mash | Spiced whole mackerel with chickpea salad | Twice cooked belly pork (with gravy) parsnips and sweet apple red cabbage | Roasted pheasant | Portobello mushroom, port and stilton wellington | Lemon tart with fresh vanilla mascarpone | Massaman curry |  Smoked mackerel pate on crostini and red onion confit  |Rolled breast of lamb with garlic mash and Savoy cabbage | Lemon & rosemary chicken thighs |  Thai Pollock curry with egg noodles | Chunky pea and ham soup| Spaghetti alla carbonara | Pork stroganoff | Green chilli meat balls, sunflower seed couscous salad and mint yoghurt |  Tagliatelle with air dried cured ham and minted peas | Beef, thyme and mushroom loaf with potato dauphinoise | Mixed bean and coriander green curry with fragrant rice | Egg Florentine with smoked cheddar and rocket salad | Beef, mushroom and thyme pie | Spicy tuna, bean and coriander lasagne |  Beef koftas with a feta, spinach and fresh mint salad | Chorizo and pea risotto | Sausage and rosemary hotpot | Beef & thyme (Lancashire) hotpot

Remember, if you're registered on lovemoney.com, you can follow this blog and find new posts as soon as they are published, via your personal homepage. Never miss a frugal recipe again - register now.